China's financial market opening advanced markedly during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25). Financial institutions made notable strides in attracting foreign capital and expanding their global presence, while capital market connectivity mechanisms deepened and China's influence in global financial markets continued to grow.

These achievements stem from a steady and gradual approach to opening-up, stronger risk prevention frameworks, coordinated policy efforts across multiple fronts, and reforms aligned closely with broader economic and social development objectives.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China should deepen institutional opening-up, further strengthen foreign participation in its financial markets, cultivate international financial hubs, enhance risk management mechanisms, refine macroeconomic supporting policies, and promote international financial cooperation and governance — so that high-level institutional opening-up can better support high-quality economic development.

Looking ahead, the further opening of China's banking sector and its support for companies expanding overseas will increasingly develop into a relationship of deep coordination and mutual reinforcement. In essence, the sector's continued opening and upgrading will provide a crucial foundation for fostering a new development paradigm and advancing high-quality economic growth. Going forward, I recommend prioritizing the following areas as key directions for our efforts.

First, institutional opening-up should be deepened, alongside more active engagement in global financial governance. The next stage of opening will move beyond simply aligning with existing international rules toward a more proactive role in participating in — and potentially helping shape — the formulation of global financial standards.

China's banking sector needs to study in advance the business opportunities and challenges arising from high-standard frameworks such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, and make early strategic preparations.

Meanwhile, China is integrating more actively into global financial governance platforms, thereby contributing Chinese insights in emerging governance areas such as digital currencies, green finance standards and sustainable finance, while enhancing its voice within the international financial system.

Second, the banking sector should focus on developing new quality productive forces and building a new ecosystem for industrial finance. This means banks need to shift from being passive providers of capital to becoming proactive industrial collaborators and ecosystem builders, embedding cross-border financial services deeply into the global value chains of frontier industries.

Banks should provide full life-cycle financial solutions for technology-driven companies in sectors such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence and new energy vehicles. They should also cultivate key industrial clusters, build digital and trusted cross-border supply chain finance systems around core enterprises to empower upstream and downstream companies, and connect with global capital markets to guide international capital toward strategic industries.

At the same time, banks can help domestic industrial capital expand its global technology asset allocation, thereby building their own core competitive advantages while supporting industrial upgrading.

Third, as cross-border business becomes increasingly complex and specialized, banks serving enterprises going global and participating in international financial cooperation will need not only professionals familiar with international financial rules, overseas regulatory frameworks and cross-cultural communication, but also an increasingly diverse workforce with strong financial technology capabilities. Banks must therefore strengthen the two pillars of talent and technology to consolidate the foundation for long-term development.

As the level of opening-up continues to deepen, China's banking industry will further strengthen its role in resource allocation, risk management and regulatory coordination while serving the international operations of enterprises and participating in cross-border financial cooperation. In doing so, it will play a constructive role in the global financial governance system and provide important support for international financial stability and global economic growth.